By Zach Hagadone and Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff
Alongside its jollier cousin in December, Halloween is as much a feeling as a specific date on the calendar. Critical to that feeling, of course, is the musical accompaniment. For the second year in a row, we’ll present a handful of suggested entries for your Halloween playlist each week in October.
Doom 2016 Soundtrack
The 1993 video game Doom was a revelation in and of itself, allowing players to travel from the moons of Mars to Hell fighting demons and undead hordes. Part of its perpetual appeal was the techno metal soundtrack, and for the 2016 Doom sequel, composer Mick Gordon took that guitar-heavy setlist and added some Satanic steroids. Where the original had electric guitars, Gordon mixed the classic sound of a nine-string with recordings of chainsaws and lawn equipment — plus a lot of electronic alterations — to create a sound fitting for both the legions of the underworld and the indomitable space marine fighting them. Listen on YouTube.
Tele Novella
The indie duo Tele Novella describes themselves as “macabre pop,” which is perhaps the only and best way to categorize their music. It has a kind of ’50s nuclear family and ’60s Scooby-Doo vibe, with happy overtones and hypnotic, retro guitar belying a sinister, haunted secret. Though songs like “Vampire Cowgirl,” “Dead Canary” and “Crystal Witch” combine perfect Halloween sounds with matching themed lyrics, almost every Tele Novella song deserves a spot on your October playlists. Perhaps in honor of the season, they also just released the song “All Wylde Things,” with an accompanying music video that combines the Smurfs with Baba Yaga and Eastern European folklore. Listen on telenovella.world.
Vudu Sister
You might have guessed from the band name that Vudu Sister celebrates the strange and unusual all year long. We would loosely classify them as gothic folk, stemming from their macabre sensibilities, full set of strings — violin, bass, cello and guitar — and American roots-style of singing, but they also have a smattering of grunge and chamber music. Much of their music is inspired by Southern and European folklore, ghost stories and other morbid bits of modern culture. We recommend “The Girl Who Stood on a Grave,” “He Heard Footsteps Coming up the Cellar Stairs” and “Dead Man’s Pocket,” but every song off of Mortis Nervosa and Bastard Children is worth an October listen. Find them on vudusister.bandcamp.com.
Apashe
Born in Brussels, Belgium, and based in Montreal, Quebec, John De Buck — otherwise known as Apashe — is hard to classify. His sound could just as easily live comfortably under any of the electronica, trap and dubstep genre labels, but it’s his orchestral, quasi-Baroque sensibility that really sets him apart. His albums Renaissance and EP Requiem stride with bombastic confidence into symphonic territory that would be pretentious if it wasn’t so expertly scored. This is the music that the Phantom of the Opera would listen to in his off time; and, of particular note are his collaborations with Ukrainian rapper Alina Pash. Her howls of glorious, barely contained rage on joint-tracks like “Witch” and “Kyiv” will send chills down your spine in all the right ways and for all the right reasons. Find it on YouTube and wherever else you find music.
Vintage Halloween
This might seem lazy, but The Hollywood Scrapbook channel on YouTube has delivered its own “Tunes of Terror” playlist, with just shy of two hours of scary season-themed tracks ranging from 1929 to 1969. “A Very Vintage Halloween!” features 18 numbers that range from the classically jazzy “The Tale of the Devil” to the ragtime-esque “Inside the Haunted House,” sultry “Jitters in the Dark,” show-tuney “I Wanna Be Bad,” and quintessentially campy ’60s novelty songs like “Monster Romance” and “Grim Grinning Ghosts.” If you’re looking for a candy bucket full of nostalgic Halloween bops, this collection is all treats.
